Recruiting New Members
Chicago Professional Chapter
Attracting Prospective Members
Chicago Net Impact has found that events are a key factor in attracting new members and therefore strives to host at least one event each month. The chapter has made a couple of the most popular events annual, such as our movie screening and a wine tasting events held each winter.
The Chicago Professional Chapter also hosts at least one collaboration event with local student chapters and periodically sends representatives to student chapter events. This involvement helps students develop a connection with the Chicago Professional Chapter and makes it easier to recruit those that remain in Chicago after graduation.
The chapter’s leadership team forwards all event announcements to their individual networks in order to generate interest. The team includes eight professionals representing various industries and sectors of the economy. As a result, we are able to reach a wide variety of individuals that otherwise may not be exposed to Net Impact.
Example event announcement forwarded by a chapter leader (.doc)
Following Up with Prospective Members
At the beginning of every event, a member of the leadership team provides brief information on Net Impact for prospective members and points out the other leadership team members in the room in order to facilitate networking with anyone that may have questions about Net Impact. In addition, the national Net Impact membership brochure and an insert with information on the Chicago Professional Chapter are available at every event. The purpose is to provide information about Net Impact that is consistent with messages prospective members may receive from other sources, such as the website, while also providing information on the local chapter.
Chapter insert (.pdf)
Following the event, the chapter sends an e-mail thanking attendees and providing information on Net Impact. The e-mail is tailored to include key takeaways, such as actions that individuals can take to impact the socially responsible business issue that was discussed at the event, and information on upcoming events.
Example “Thanks for attending” e-mail (.doc)
Example action slide (.ppt)
The Chicago Professional Chapter also receives inquiries from people who are interested in joining Net Impact, but may have never attended an event. The chapter’s initial response is to address any specific questions the prospective member might have and to provide information on how to join Net Impact. The Membership Team then follows-up by forwarding the next 1-2 communications, which typically include a chapter newsletter and event announcement. The process is facilitated by using a potential member log to track the names, e-mail addresses and questions asked by prospective members.
Example follow-up e-mail (.doc)
Potential member log (.xls)
Opportunities to Get More Involved
Regardless of how we first learn of a prospective member, one of the most common questions the chapter receives is “if I become a member, how can I get more involved?” As a result, the Chicago Professional Chapter has made a concerted effort to provide opportunities for member engagement and to communicate those opportunities to prospective members as a benefit of joining Net Impact.
In 2007-2008, our focus was on building volunteer committees within the Chicago Professional Chapter. The committees provide opportunities for members to assist with communications and marketing, event planning, professional development and membership recruitment and retention.
Committee descriptions (.doc)
The chapter also launched an Action Projects initiative in late 2008 that provides ways for individuals to tailor their level of involvement around an issue based on the time they have available. Information on how to “take action” is sent to prospective members in “thanks for attending” e-mails after each event (see above). In addition, the chapter hosted two networking events focused specifically on Action Projects that attracted several prospective members.
Monitoring Progress
Last, but not least, the Chicago Professional Chapter monitors it’s basic membership statistics on a regular basis. The Membership Team pulls a download from Net Impact Central’s database every month that is used to summarize basic chapter statistics, such as the number of active members and the number of members by type (lifetime, professional, student, etc.). The download includes member names and e-mail addresses, which can then be cross-referenced against the potential member log and event attendance sheets to gain an understanding of which recruitment efforts resulted in new memberships during that month.
The statistics are reviewed at monthly Leadership Team meetings, which allow the group to determine appropriate next steps for either the Membership Team or other Leaders. Many of the activities mentioned above were first incubated in these monthly meetings, and we continue to use them as a forum for identifying ways to recruit new members.
Contact
If you have questions or would like to learn more about the Chicago Professional Chapter, please email chicago@netimpact.org to connect with the chapter leaders.
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